My 108th experiment: Rosemary focaccia

I make some pre-ferment, originally for pain de noix. But it turns into a focaccia.

Ingredients:
Pre-ferment
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/3 cup + 2 TB water
- 1 tp active dry yeast
Dough
- all of the pre-ferment
- 1/2 cup KAF whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup KAF bread flour
- 1/2 tp salt
- 1 tp active dry yeast
- about 1/2 cup water
- 1 TB oil for greasing
Topping
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1 tp dried rosemary
- dash of salt

Procedure:
1. Mix pre-ferment and allow to sit on counter at room temperature overnight.
2. Dilute pre-ferment with water. Then mix with flours, salt and yeast to form a wet dough.
3. Knead dough several times. Then allow to rest for 30 minutes.
4. Punch dough down. Spread out on greased parchment paper and allow to proof in room temperature until puffy (about 30 to 60 minutes each time). Repeat this several times.
5. Preheat oven to 450F for 30 minutes. Heat rosemary and salt in olive oil. Allow to cool slightly. Then brush onto dough. Use oiled fingers to punch holes on dough.
6. Place dough in oven. Reduce heat to 425F. Bake for 15 minutes, or until top is slightly golden.
7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Slice and serve.

Results:
Day 1, 11:49pm, pre-ferment:

Day 1, 11:53pm, height of pre-ferment:

Day 2, 8:23am, growth of pre-ferment overnight on counter top:

Day 2, 8:48am, pre-ferment punched:

Day 2, 8:51am, pre-ferment height after punching:

Day 2, 11:44am, pre-ferment risen again in 3 hours:

Day 2, 2:19pm, pre-ferment risen a third time, and ready to go into dough:

Day 2, 2:25pm, pre-ferment diluted in 1/2 cup water:

Day 2, 2:36pm, initial dough to rise:

Day 2, 3:53pm, dough rested 1 hour:

Day 2, 3:58pm, dough stretching:

Day 2, 4:10pm, dough to proof again:

Day 2, 5:13pm, dough proofed 1 hour and puffy:

Day 2, 5:43pm, dough punched and stretched to proof again until puffy:

Day 2, 6:08pm, dough brushed with rosemary oil; pinching dough with oiled fingers:

Day 2, 6:09pm, dough ready to bake:

Day 2, 6:10pm, dough to bake at 425F:

Day 2, 6:20pm, baked 10 minutes:

Day 2, 6:23pm, baked 13 minutes:

Day 2, 6:24pm, focaccia done:

Day 2, 6:24pm, focaccia in pan corner:

Day 2, 6:26pm, focaccia corner:

Day 2, 6:26pm, focaccia top out of pan:

Day 2, 6:26pm, focaccia top corner:

Day 2, 6:30pm, full bottom:

Day 2, 6:31pm, cross section:

Day 2, 6:32pm, cut:

Day 2, 6:32pm, a slice, light but a little bland:

Day 2, 6:57pm, sliced and filled with pepperoni:

Day 2, 6:57pm, sandwich:

Day 2, 6:59pm, to serve:

Observations:
1. The bread rises nicely.
2. Maybe I need a little more salt in the dough.
3. The focaccia by itself is a bit bland. But once I put in the focaccia, it tastes really good.
4. This bread is not as oily as I feel. Most of the oil is on the surface.

My 107th experiment: rustic wheat bread

This experiment confirms that dedicated interest and attention is one major cause of success. In this experiment, I have taken up an old recipe to remake it in a different form. The primary difference with the other sandwich loaves I'd recently made is that I pay attention to this dough every now and then.
This is such an impressive loaf---a loaf of comfort and joy.

Recipe: Rustic wheat bread (make 1 round loaf)

Ingredients:
- 2 cups KAF whole wheat flour
- 1 cup KAF bread flour
- 1/2 tp active dry yeast
- 4 TB buttermilk powder
- 1+1/4 tp kosher salt
- 1 TB honey
- 2 TB olive oil
- 1+1/2 cup warm water

Procedure:
Day 1
1. Sieve flours, buttermilk powder, salt together.
2. Proof yeast in 1+1/2 cup warm water with 1 TB of honey.
3. Mix dry ingredients with proofed yeast and water. Gradually form a dough. Knead until uniformly smooth.
4. Add about 1 TB oil. Knead dough until smooth. Add extra water to make a soft dough.
5. Grease a medium bowl. Rub oil on dough. Allow to proof overnight in fridge.
Day 2
Knead dough once. Then return to fridge.
Day 3
1. Grease a pan generously with oil. Dust bottom of pan with rye flour.
2. Rub rye flour on dough. Flatten and place on pan. Cover with plastic wrap and proof for a few hours, initially without heat. Then, about 2-3 hours before baking, allow dough to sit on the heating element of stove top and lowest setting.
3. When dough has at least doubled, preheat oven to 375F. Bake at 375F for about 30 minutes.

Results:
Day 1, 7:46pm, all ingredients:

Day 1, 8:30pm, dry ingredients sieved, wet ingredients proofed:

Day 1, 9:02pm, ingredients mixed for 30 minutes to form a lean dough before adding oil:

Day 1, 9:17pm, dough after another 15 minutes of kneading and adding water to increase hydration:

Day 1, 9:25pm, dough oiled, and ready to chill:

Day 1, 9:25pm, dough's height before chilling:

Day 2, 11:04am, dough chilled overnight:

Day 2, 11:04am, dough's height after chilling overnight:

Day 2, 11:05am, dough's texture:

Day 2, 11:05am, dough punched down and reshaped before returning to fridge:

Day 3, 8:01am, dough chilled for 2 days, no significant change in volume:

Day 3, 8:01am, dough's height:

Day 3, 8:46am, dough dusted with rye flour and placed on greased pan to proof in cool kitchen:

Day 3, 12:07pm, dough proofed 3 hours without heat:

Day 3, 12:07pm, dough's height after proofing 3 hours without heat:

Day 3, 1:20pm, dough on very mildly warm stove for 1 hour:

Day 3, 1:20pm, dough's height:

Day 3, 2:47pm, dough in mild warmth for 2 hours:

Day 3, 2:27pm, dough's height:

Day 3, 3:28pm, dough in mild warmth for 3 hours:

Day 3, 3:28pm, dough's height:

Day 3, 3:29pm, baking started at 375F:

Day 3, 3:57pm, taked 28 minutes at 375F:

Day 3, 4:01pm, internal temperature way above 190F:

Day 3, 4:01pm, thermometer coming out clean:

Day 3, 4:02pm, loaf's height:

Day 3, 4:03pm, loaf's top:

Day 3, 4:06pm, loaf's bottom:

Day 3, 4:07pm, loaf's side:

Day 3, 4:17pm, hole:

Day 3, 4:17pm, loaf's top after 15 minutes:

Day 3, 7:21pm, loaf after cooling 3 hours, no shrinkage at all:

Day 3, 7:22pm, loaf cut across the center:

Day 3, 7:23pm, interiors of the loaf:

Day 3, 7:25pm, tearing apart the hole:

Observation:
1. Using the pie pan to proof the dough, I find that proofing the dough on the large stove at the lowest setting (between low and off) provides a very good warming effect. Dough grows really rapidly at this warm temperature. The heating element does not burn the hand, it is just warm and comfortable.
2. This loaf may be done in less than 30 minutes. Next time, for dough of same hydration, and baked in a round pan, baking may be done at 375F for just 25 minutes.
3. The impressive thing about this loaf is that the crust does not shrink after cooling. The crust is hard enough to hold the shape of the loaf.
4. This loaf tastes wonderful! Not chewy, just nice. The buttermilk is not distinctive.